Attachment for calculating-machines.



M TEETOR.

ATTACHMENT FOR CALCULATING MACHINES. APPLICATION HLED MAR. 3, 19!].

1,167,132. Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

p f as; .36 J6 E I z J 3/ i p5 m .74 i; v 4

I l i 3" J? J 50 52 5 4o J l g 49 a Gigi; 20

messes 1 unrrnn srn'rns NT ornron.

MARTIN TEETOR, F DES MQINES, IOWA, ASSTGNOR, TO TEETOR COMPANY, OF DESMOINES, IOWA, A CdRPORATION OF IOWA.

' ATTACHMENT FOR CALCULATING-MACHINES.

7 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN TEE'roR a citizen of the United States,residing at fies Moines, county of Polk, and State of Iowa, haveinvented a new and useful Attachment for Calculating-Machines, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to calculating machines arranged to be driven by anelectric motor, and has for its object the provision of novel mechanismfor controlling the motor switch by means of a treadle.

As afurther feature of improvement this 'mechanism mcludes a retaidmgdevice, so

constructed that when the operatorreleases the. treadle to open themotor-switch, the opening of the switch does nottake lace immediately,but is delayed for a brie interval of time. The purpose of thisretarding device is to permit the operator to leave the machine for alimited interval of.time without the necessity of stopping the motor. Inmotor driven calculating machinesheretofore constructed, the motorswitch was controlled by hand and the operation of the switch was directand immediate upon'actuation of the switch handle or switch button. Thecontrol of the motor switch by means'ofa treadle gives the operator thefreedom of both of his hands for the operation of the keyboard. Theretarded or delayed operation ofthe switch upon release of the treadlepermits the operator to leave the machine for a limited period of timewithout having to manipulate some form of stopping device for the motor..The retarding mechanism herein disclosed is also pro vided with meansfor regulating the amount of retardation in the operation of the motorswitch. i

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate apreferred form of myinvention,

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a' motor-driven calculatingmachine provided with my new attachment, Fig. 2 is a .cross- Y sectionalview of'the retarding mechanism together with some of the associatedconnections, andFig. 3 isan internal view of a suitable form of switchadapted to be connected with retarding mechanism.

On a suitable support or sta'ndard,indicateda-s a whole by the referencenumeral 1,

is mounted a calculating machine 2 of any approved form or construction.Inasmuc as'this calculating machine does-v not in and Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

Application filed March 3, 1911. Serial No. 612,131.

of itself form any part of my invention, but

'may be of a form well known in the art,

it is unnecessary here to give any detailed description thereof, sincethe construction and operation of such a machine is well understood bythose skilled in the art. The support 1 carries an electric motor 3which is arranged to be operatively connected with the power shaft 1 ofthe adding machine. For the sake of illustration I have in Fig. 1 shownan arm 5 connected to the power shaft 4 and a slotted link 6 dependingfrom the free end of the arm 5. The connections between the motor shaftand the slotted link 6 are of any approved and well known form and areunderstood to be arranged within the box or casing 7 secured to thesupport 1.

The adding machine is also provided with a starting key 8 which isadapted to control a suitable clutch between the motor shaft and theslotted link 6, this clutch being arranged in the box or casing 7. Sincethe operative connections between the power shaft 4, the/starting key 8and the motor 3 do not in and of themselves form any part of myinvention, 1 have not thought it neces sary to show or describe indetail the mechanism contained within the box or casing 7 since suchmechanism is well understood by those skilled in the art. The supplyconductors 9 and 10 lead from a suitable source of electric energy tothe motor windings. The

support or standard 1 has fixed thereto a suitable form of electricswitch 11 In the illustrations shown in the drawing, the motor switch 11is depicted as what is known in the art as a flush-wall switch.. Fig. 3

shows the operative parts of such a switch.-

The terminals 12 and 13 are secured to the metallic strips '14 and 15,respectively. Into 1 the casing 16 extend the conductors'17 and metalstrip 15. A metallic arm 21 pivoted at 22 is adapted to electricallyconnect the terminals 12 and 13, thereby closing the circuitthrough themotor windings. idly connected to the metallic arm 21 is a lever 23 towhich is pivoted the upper end ofthe link 24 provided with a slot 25.The switch casing 16 is provided with a pair of perforatedlugs 26 and27. The lug 26 is provided with a pin 28 on which is pivoted Rigthe rod29. To thelower end of this rod is rigidly secured the piston which isarranged to operate within the cylinder 31. The piston 30 is in the formof a cylinder having a disk portion 32 provided with one or more valveopenings 33. These openings are adapted to be normally closed by valves34. The piston rod 29 carries a disk 35 which engages the upper ends ofthe valve stems 36. On the hub portion 37 of the piston disk 32 rests acup-shaped disk 38 provided with openings for accommodating the valvestems 36. A coil spring 39 hearing at one end against the cup-shapeddisk 38 and at the other end against the disk 35, normally holds thevalves 34 firmly against their respective openings. The" cylinder 31 isprovided with a by-pass 40 which at one end communicates with thecylinder at the point 41 and at the other end at the point 42, thesepoints of communication being at opposite sides of the piston 30. Aneedle valve 43 is arranged in the by-pass 40 for controlling the fiowof oil or other suitable fluid with which the cylinder is filled. Thecylinder is provided with a suitable stufling box or gland 44 to renderthe connection between the cylinder and the piston rod air tight. Thetop of the cylinder is preferably closed by a cap 45 which may bescrewed on to the cylinder. The cap 45 is provided with a pivot lug 46to which is connectedv one end of a rod 47. The upper end of this linkis provided with a pin 48 which is adapted to work in the slot 25 of thelink 24. At its lower end the cylinder 31 has secured thereto the rod49. A treadle 50 is at its rear end pivoted to the support 1 at 51 andat its front end terminates in a foot piece 52. The rod 49 is pivoted tothe treadle 50 at 53. A spring 54 is at one end connected to the lug 27of the switch box 16 and at the other end to the treadle 50, so as tonormally hold the treadle in the position shown in Fig. 1.

From the above detailed description it will be apparent that when theoperator depresses the treadle, the cylinder 31 is drawn down while thepiston 30 remains stationary. This causes such a pressure of the oil orfluid in the cylinder on the disk 35 that the latter is depressedsufficiently against the action of the spring 39 to open the ports 33.This forces the oil or fiuid through these ports and thereby permitsready movement of the cylinder relative to the piston. The downwardmovement of the piston 31 is accompanied by the downward movement of thelink 24, whereby the motor switch is closed, as shown in Fig. 3. It isof course to be understood that the motor switch is normally open andthat it is not in the closed position until the link 24 is drawn down bythe cylinder 81. The switch remains closed as long as the operator keepshis foot on the treadle. Should the treadle be released, the spring 54will draw the same upwardly and simultaneously move the cylinder 31upwardly. During this upward movement of the cylinder the valves 34remain closed and the oil in the cylinder is forced through the by-pass40 from one side of the piston to the other. This circulation of the oilis comparatively slow because of the restricted area of the by-pass. Itwill, therefore, take a corresponding amount of time for the cylinder torise to its normal position. The motor switch remains closed until thecylinder reaches the limit of its upward movement, whereupon the pin 48forces the link 24 upwardly to open the switch. Should the operatordepress the treadle before the cyl inder has reached the limit of itsupper movement, the motor circuit remains closed and he may continue theoperation of the calculating machine without having to attend to anyswitch connections. The flow of oil or fluid through the by-pass 40 isregulated by the needle valve-43, but it is obvious that other means maybe provided for regulating the rapidity of circulation of the oil. It isobvious that the length of time which it takes the cylinder to travelfrom its lower to its upper position depends upon the rate of flow ofthe oil through the by-pass 40. Therefore by regulating the effectivearea of the by-pass the amount of retardation in the operation of themotor switch may be accordingly regulated.

It should be understood that the particular form of switch which hasbeen selected for illustration in the drawings for the sake ofclearness, does not in and of itself form any part ofmy presentinvention and that any suitable form of circuit-controlling switch maybe used.

I would also have it understood that while I have herein shown onespecific embodiment of my invention, various changes and modificationsmay be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims. For instance, my new form ofswitch-operating mechanism is readily adapted for use in connection withvarious kinds of motordriven appliances which are necessarily usedintermittently and where the motor is instantly cut into circuit, but iscut out of circuit with retarded action of the controlling switch.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination of a machine, an elec- 4 and at the other end to saidswitch, a stationarily supported piston within said cylinder, one ormore normallyclosed valves carried by said piston and arranged to openautomatically when the cylinder is moved down by the operation of thetreadle, and a by-pass connected to said cylinder at opposite sides ofthe piston. v

2. The combination of a suitable support, a machine mounted thereon, anelectric motor for operating said machine, a switch secured to saidsupport for controlling the motor circuit, a treadle pivoted to saidsupport, a fluid-filled cylinder connected at its lower end to saidtreadle, a lost-motion connection between said switch and said cylinder,a piston Within said cylinder, a 'rod secured at one end to said pistonand pivoted at its other end to said'support, one or more normallyclosed valves carried by said piston and arranged to open automaticallywhen the cylinder is moved down by the operation of the treadle, and aby-pass connected to said cylinder at opposite sides of the piston.

3. The combination of a suitable support, a driven machine mountedthereon, an electric motor for operating said machine, a

switch secured to said support 'for controlling the motor circuit, atreadle pivoted to said support, a fluid-filled cylinder connected atits lower end to said treadle, a lost-motion connection between saidswitch andsaid cylinder, a piston within said cylinder, a rod secured atone end to said piston and pivoted at its other end to said support, oneor more normally closed valves carried by said piston and arranged toopen automatically when the cylinder is moved down by the operation ofthe treadle, a by-pass connected to said cylinder at opposite sides ofthe piston, and means for regulating the flow of fluid through saidby-pass.

4. The combination of a suitable appliance, an electric motor foroperating the same, a switch in the motor circuit, a treadle, operativeconnections between said treadle and said switch for controlling thelatter, a retarding device included in said connections for; retardingthe operation of the switch when the treadle 1s released, and

means for regulating the amount of retardation of said device.

5. The combination of a suitable support, a driven machine mountedthereon, an electricmotor for operating said driven machine, a switchsecured to said support for controlling the motor circuit, a treadlepivoted to said support and having connections with said switch forcontrolling the same, said connections including a device for retardingthe operation of the switch when the treadle is released, a spring fornormally holding the treadle .in inoperative position, and means forregulating the amount of retardation of said device.

6. The combination of a suitable appliance, an electric motor foroperating the same, a switch in the motor circuit, atreadle, afluid-filled cylinder provided with a piston, a by-pass connected tosaid cylinder at opposite sides of said piston, 'one or more normallyclosed valves carried by said plston and arranged to open automaticallyunder pressure of fluid in one direction, said cylinder and piston beingmovable relatively to each other, and operative connections whereby thedepression of said treadle opens the switch and moves the pistonrelatively to the cylinder, the piston valves bemg open during thismovement, while release of the treadle causes relative movement ofpiston and cylinder in the opposite d rection, the piston valves beingclosed during this return movement and the fluid being forced throughthe by-pass.

7 The combination of an electrlc motor, a switch in the motor circuit,and mechanism for operating said switch, said mechanism operatinginstantly to close the swltch and operating with retarded action to openthe switch. 1.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 9th day ofDecember, A. D 1910.

MARTIN TEETOR.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE J. Lor'rus, ELIZABETH SKAHILL.

